Trunk type hinge



Oct. 10, 19.33. DEVLIN 1,930,308

TRUNK TYPE HINGE Filed Oct. 24, 1930 INVENTOR Henry ile/[27.

ATTORNEYS.

Federated Get. W, 1933 iJNlED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRUNK TYPE HINGE Henry Devlin,

Saginaw, Mich,

assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Henry Devlin Company, Flint, Mich., a corporation of Michigan The present invention may be referred to as an improvement in double-link hinges of the same general type as that disclosed in an application, Serial No. 487,809, filed Oct. 10, 1930, by Walter D. Young, a pivotal connecting organization therein described being adapted at all times to maintain a top in advance of a trunk body member,obviating contact of said top with any substantially vertical element such as the rear panel of a vehicle body adjacent which the trunk may be disposed.

As in the case of the mentioned hinge, the hinge herein described and claimed preferably comprises, in addition to a plate secured to a top bar and a plate secured to a body member o a trunlna pair of unequal links pivotally secured to said plates; and, in the present instance,

the lower and shorter of these links is additionally provided with means, preferably including a so lever pivoted to one of said plates, for drawing said shorter link and the plate to which it is secured downward, in a manner favorable to the maintenance of substantial parallelism between adjacent edges of said top and said body, during completion of a powerful closing movement of said top.

As in the case of the mentioned prior invention, the present hinge so operates as to safeguard any contents, such as a suitcase disposed near the front of a trunk, that may project upward from the body member thereof; and it also permits the trunk top, when elevated, to reach a rearwardly "overbalancing extreme position in which it is securely although yieldably self-retained-in which the entire weight of the top, when it has reached the position last referred to, may be so supported by the mentioned links, in mutual engagement, as to safeguard a cushioning strip carried by said top and adapted to undergo a substantially uniform compression upon the closure thereof.

Other objects of the present invention, including the provision of a forward extension upon the mentioned lever and the'disposition of a part thereof in a plane common to the mentioned plates, and also the provision of resilient means tending to bias said extension toward an elevated position, may be best appreciated from the following description of illustrative embodiments of said invention, taken in connection with the appended claims and the accompanying drawing, in which all views are somewhat diagrammatic:

Fig. l is a view which, speaking with reference to the manner in which the tnmk opens, may be referred to as a front elevational view.

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view, resembling Fig. 1 in showing the trunk as closed.

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view taken similarly 0 to Fig. 2 but showing the trunk as partially opened, its lower parts being broken away:

Fig. 4 is a. sectional view, taken substantially as indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 but on a larger scale, showing the trunk top as elevated 35 to its extreme position, with parts broken away.

Fig. 5 is a separate elevational view, taken from the same direction as Fig. 4, showing, on a somewhat larger scale, what may be referred to as a right end hinge of a modified type. 30

Fig. 6 is a view comparable with Fig. '5 but showing, on a larger scale, one preferred type of hinge.

Fig. 7 is an end view taken as indicated by the arrow 7 of Fig. 6.

Referring first to the more general features of the illustrated trunk and hinge organization, a trunk body member B may comprise a front element 10, a back element 11 and end elements 12 and 13,-a frame, which comprises end elements 14 and longitudinal elements 15 and 16, being provided at the upper edge thereof and preferably from a suitable ply-wood; and a top '1, shown as resembling the mentioned side and end elements of the trunk body in that it is formed mainly from sheetmetal, may include corresponding frame elements 14', 15' and 16'.

The body member 13 and top member T may be provided with any desired decorative and/or reinforcing element 17, 18; but it will be understood that there need be nothing exceptional about the details of construction above referred to, excepting as they may be modified or adapted to cooperate with special connecting means for said top.

End elements 14 and 14', providing adjacent flat edges of the body member B and the top member T (said end elements being preferably so cut away to provide pockets adapted to receive links 20 and 21) 'are shown as having secured 100 thereto plates 22 and 23,-these being preferably inset and secured by means such as screws 24. The respective ends of the upper and longer link 20 are shown as secured to the respective plates 22 and 23, near the opposite ends thereof, by 105 pivots 25 and 26; but the lower and shorter link 21, although secured to the upper plate 22 by a fixed pivot 27, is secured to the lower plate 23 only in an indirect manner and by means preferably comprising a pivotal connection at 28 with 110 a member, such as a lever 29, pivoted to the plate 23 at 30, adapted to impart a comparatively powerful downward movement through the link to the plate 22. Inorder automatically and powerfully to impart the desired movement to the top, and especially to the rearward portion thereof, incidentally to the completion of a closing movement of said top, the lever 29 is shown as provided with a forward extension 31, which includes an upwardly inclined part that carries an actuating portion 32. The latter may be disposed in the plane of the plate 22 or in that of an engagement edge or element 33, movable therewith; and the lever 29 or its forward extension 31 may be provided with means (such as a com pression spring 35 interposed between a lug 36 upon the upwardly extending portion thereof and a lug 37, shown as integral with the plate 23) tending to bias the mentioned actuating portion of said lever toward an upper position such as that indicated by the dotted line 33'.

It will be obvious that means such as a washer 38 may be employed suitably to space the lever 29 from the plate 23, in case the lower ends of one or both of the links 21 are to be disposed between said lever and said plate; and that means such as a threaded or other pin 39, slidable through at least one of the lugs 36, 37 and/or a suitably positioned lug 40, shown as integral with the plate 23 maybe employed to effect a spacing and limitation of play between mentioned parts. It will alsobe recognized that the configuration of the link 21 may be adapted, as in the case of the mentioned hinge devised by Young, not only to provide a clearance for the longitudinal frame element 16' and to safeguard any cushioning strip 41 carried thereby but to provide a shoulder 42, suitably disposed for engagement with a cooperating surface 43 of the link 20.

The outline of a suitcase being suggested at 44, Fig. 3, it will be noted that the shapes, the proportions and the connections between the elements of the described hinges are such as forwardly to advance the top T, as said top is raised, in a manner which safeguards any contents projecting upward from the body B into the said top; and also that the described connections are such as to bring adjacent edges of the mentioned members into substantial parallelism, during a lowering of said top, at a time when said edges are spaced apart sufficiently to compress the cushioning strip 41, or its equivalent,at or about the moment when the engagement element or portion 33 of the plate 22 strikes the actuating por tion 32 of the lever 29. A further depression of the top T then has the effect of powerfully drawing the plate 22 toward the plate 23 while maintaining a substantial parallelism between the adjacent edges of said plates,-the link 20 act- ;ing, at this time, asa thrust element, whereas the link 21 acts as a tension element whose pull is dependent upon the ratio of the distance between pivots 28 and 30 as compared with the distance between the pivot 28 and the point of contact of the actuating portion 32 of said lever with the engagement element or surface 33 of the plate 22.

To illustrate the practicability of embodying the principles of the present invention in alter- T native forms, Fig. 5 (in which reference characters employed above are used with an (1 added to each character) will be seen to suggest the disposition of the lever 39a in the same plane with the lower plate 23a, a portion of the latter being slightly offset to receive the pivot 30a, the springengaging lugs 36a and 37a being provided respectively by attached plates, and a screw being employed to provide the stop 40a, limiting the action of said spring. v

No other form of intermediate element 29 is deemed so advantageous herein as a lever of the first class; the pivot 27 may be provided on a lug 46 at the lower edge of the plate 22, the lower plate-23 being correspondingly cut away, as at 47; but it will be understood that such terms as upper, lower, front", rear are herein used only in relation to the illustrated relative positions of the parts, these novel hinges being available in any position of use and the configuration of the plates 22 and 23 being preferably such as to permit said plates to be interchanged in position, except as special outlines or the provision of special flanges may be required in unusual applications of the principles thereof.

It will, however, be understood not only that such details as have last been referred to are of subordinate importance herein, and that various features of the present invention might be independently employed, but also that numerous modifications, additional to any suggested herein, might easily be devised by skilled workers if informed of the foregoing-all without departure from the scope of this invention, as the latter is indicated above and in the following claims:

I claim:

1. In a hinge: a pair of plate elements; a lever element pivoted to one of said plate elements; a link whose ends are respectively pivoted to said plate elements near opposite ends thereof; a link whose ends are respectively pivoted to one of said plate elements and to said lever element; and means, including cooperating parts upon said last-mentioned elements, for depressing said lever incidentally to the completion of a closing movement of said hinge.

2. In a hinge: a pair of plate elements; a lever element pivoted to one of said plate elements; a link whose ends are respectively pivoted to said plate elements near opposite ends thereof; a link whose ends are respectively pivoted to one of said plate elements and to said lever element; and means, including cooperating parts upon said lastmentioned elements, for depressing said lever incidentally to the completion of a closing movement of said hinge,-said lever being provided with a forward extension having a portion which is disposed suitably for engagement by means on that plate to which said shorter link is pivoted.

3. In a hinge: a pair of plate elements; a lever element pivoted to one of said plate elements; a link whose ends are respectively pivoted to said plate elements near opposite ends thereof; a link whose ends are respectively pivoted to one of said plate elements and to said lever element; and means, including cooperating parts upon said last-mentioned elements, for depressing said lever incidentally to the completion of a closing movement of said hinge,said lever and one of said plates being provided with means biasing said lever toward an elevated position.

4. In a hinge: a pair of plate elements; a link whose ends are respectively pivoted to said plate elements near opposite ends thereof; an intermediate element movable relatively to one of said plates; a shorter link'element whose ends are respectively pivoted to one of said plates and to said intermediate element; and means for so moving said intermediate element, incidentally to completion of a closing movement of said hinge, as to maintain a substantial parallelism of adjacent edges of said plates during the completion of said closing movement.

5. In a hinge: a pair of plate elements; a link whose ends are respectively pivoted to said plate elements near opposite ends thereof; an intermediate element movable relatively to one of said plates; a shorter link element whose ends are respectively pivoted to one of said plates and to said intermediate element; and means for so moving said intermediate element, incidentally to com pleton of a closingmovement of said hnge, as to maintain a substantial parallelism of adjacent edges of said plates during the completion of said closing movement,said plates being similar in general configuration and disposed in a common plane.

6. A hinge construction for connecting a closure to a body, comprising a pair of plates adapted to be connected to the closure and body respectively, a link pivotally connecting the plates, and means for automatically shifting the pivotal connection between the link and one of the plates, with respect to such plate during relative movement of the plates.

7. A hinge construction for connecting a closure to a body, comprising a pair of plates adapted to be connected to the closure and body respectively, means pivotally connecting the plates, so as to obtain substantial parallelism between adjacent edges of the plate, when the latter are moved relatively into substantially closed position, and additional means for moving the rear ends of the plates relatively toward each other during final closing movement.

8. A hinge construction for connecting a closure to a body, comprising a pair of plates adapted to be connected to the closure and body respectively, links pivotally connected to the plates so as to form a polygon in conjunction with the plates, and means for varying the efiective length of one side of such polygon. r

9. A hinge construction for connecting a closure to a body, comprising a pair of plates adapted to be connected to the closure and body respectively, links pivotally connecting the plates so as to form a polygon in conjunction with the plates, and means for automatically changing the eiIective length of one side of the polygon, during relative movement of the plates.

10. In a hinge suitable for use in pivotally securing a top comprising end elements to adjacent end elements of a trunk body,-an upper plate element and a lower plate element adapted to be respectively secured to adjacent end elements of said top and. said bottom, a lever, a link, one end of which is pivotally connected to one end of the top plate, the other end of said link being connected to a longitudinally spaced part of the lower plate, a shorter link whose ends are respectively pivoted to said upper plate and to said lever, and means for depressing said lever incidentally to the completion of a closing movement of said top.

11. In a hinge suitable for use in pivotally securing a top comprising end elements to adjacent end elements of a trunk body, an upper plate element and a lower plate element adapted to be respectively secured to adjacent end elements of said top and said body, a lever, a link, one end of which is pivotally connected to one end 01' the top plate, the other end of said link being connected to a longitudinally spaced part of the lower plate, a shorter link whose ends are respectively pivoted to said upper plate and to said lever, and means for depressing said lever incidentally to the completion oi a closing movement of said top, said means comprising a forward extension of said lever.

12. In a hinge suitable for use in pivotally securing atop comprising end elements to adjacent end elements of atrunk body, an upper plate element and a lower plate element adapted to be respectively secured to adjacent end elements of said top and said body, a lever, a link, one end of which is pivotally connected to one end of the top plate, the other end of said link being connected to a longitudinally spaced part oi the lower plate, a shorter link whose ends are respectively pivoted to said upper plate and to said lever, and means for depressing said lever incidentally to the completion of a closing movement of said top, said lever being provided with a forward extension including a portion which projects above said lower plate.

13. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plates, a pair of links pivotally connected at one end to one of the plates, and means operatively and pivotally connecting the opposite ends of the links to the other plate including means for displacing the last mentioned pivotal connection of one link with respect to the latter plate.

14. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plate members, means connecting the plate members for hinging movement when the plate members are moved towards or from each other, and means for automatically drawing the members toward each other beyond the ordinary movement that would occur in normal operation of the connecting means, when the plates are relatively moved into their finally closed positions.

15. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plate members, means connecting the plate mem-,

bers for pivotal opening and closing movement, and for advancing one plate member toward the other during substantially finalclosing movement into a position of substantially parallelism with respect to the other plate member, and means for automatically drawing the plate members at one end thereof, toward each other beyond the ordinary movement that would occur in the actuation of the connecting means when the plate members are being moved toward each other.

' 16. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plate members, means connecting the plate members for pivotal opening and closing movement, and means for automatically drawing one plate member toward the other at the one end of the plates, beyond the ordinary movement that would occur in the actuation of the connecting means when one plate is moved toward the other, said last mentioned means including means actuated by one plate member during its final movement toward closed position.

1'1. Ahinge construction comprising a pair or plate members, means connecting one plate member to the other for pivotal opening and closing,

and means for automatically drawing one plate toward the other at one endoi the plates, beyond the ordinary movement that would occur in the actuation of the connecting means when the plates are moved toward their closed positions said automatically operating means comprising a mechanical leverage which applies a greater force than that causing hinging movement of the plates toward their closed positions.

HENRY DEVLIN. 

